He attended local schools until the age of fourteen, and graduated from Oberlin College in 1875, then pursued a legal education in Cincinnati.
Stone subsequently moved to Marshall County, Iowa, to teach near Marietta.
After eighteen months, Sears left the partnership and Stone maintained the practice as a solo endeavor.
In the presidential election held later that year, Stone was a member of the Electoral College, representing Iowa's fifth congressional district.
Stone stepped down from the state house at the end of his term in 1896 to resume working at his law firm.